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McCann, for every tenner, WH Ireland

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

I know many of us are annoyed that a Celtic player, who didn’t appeal for a foul, is not being charged for inappropriately looking for one, is headline news today.  This is all a consequence of Sky Sports pundit Neil McCann’s insistence that John Guidetti cheated, while he simultaneously acknowledged Guidetti didn’t actually claim for a penalty.

TV analysis can enrich viewers’ appreciation of the game, but it has to carry a degree of responsibility too.

Those of us from Scotland will be familiar with the summertime noise of a scramble – pennies dropping all around you.  It’s a wedding-day tradition, when the father of the bride throws coins into the street for kids to collect as he and the bride leave for the ceremony.

Today’s story in the Record, lifted from a fans’ group, that newco Rangers receive approximately 75p for every £10 spent with Rangers Retail, the joint-venture between the football club and Mike Ashley, must have had pennies dropping everywhere.

These figures are for last season, so predate whatever new arrangement Ashley was able to negotiate for the return of stadium naming rights.  We’ve covered this point before, but it’s worth reiterating:

Football clubs are in fact a series of business units.  Few make a profit over any business cycle but there are profitable business units inside every club, including retail, trackside advertising, media rights and kit deals.

Football operations almost always lose money.  The considerable cost of operating a stadium, recruiting and employing footballers (and occasionally a manager on an onerous contract) isn’t met by ticket sales, even at community football level.

The club accounts detail how much financial control Ashley has over newco’s profitable revenue streams, from retail, to kit supply to trackside advertising.  The true consequences of forming the with investors looking for a financial return, as newco did in 2012, should now be apparent.

If the club has a future it will have to survive pretty much on ticket sales alone.  As we’ve covered before, when you need to pay circa £17m p.a. to open the doors at a club which will occasionally house 50,000 spectators, and your gate receipts and hospitality sales totalled £12.3m last season, you have a chronic problem.

Even if ticket sales doubled in value, there would still leave only around £7m to pay for football operations, a figure the likes of Kilmarnock can survive on, but you have to wonder if a ‘Rangers’ brand is viable at that level?

Does this sound like a viable football club to you? If so, let’s see how it looks after Ashley has his pound of flesh for financing the second half of the season. No wonder fans are so keen to stop him.

I see newco have appointed WH Ireland as their nominated advisers, a name you may be familiar with.  Back in May 2012, Kitalba, with an astonishing degree of understatement (“It couldn’t be clearer”), noted here in the comments section the breadcrumb trail between Craig Whyte, a whole series of his companies and associates, and the aforementioned WH Ireland.  It’s worth a 15 minute read.

It’s the big Glasgow derby tomorrow and Celtic sponsor Magners have offered us two premium seats in the Jock Stein Stand.  All you need to do to win the seats is to email me the name of our opponents, at celticquicknews@gmail.com

Competition closes at 22:00 tonight, so check your email thereafter.  Tickets can be collected from the ticket office before the game.

Planning is underway for Mary’s Meals to build a kitchen Chibwata Primary School, Dowa, Malawi, which we in the CQN community have committed to paying for.  We have already built three school kitchens in Malawi this year, so I am sure we will complete this one sometime over the coming months.

If at the same time you entered the Magners’ competition, you wanted to donate £1 (or more) to the Mary’s Meals appeal, you can do so here.

Sorry, the MyDonate page is now open for business!!

Many thanks.

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  2. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Weefra, sort yerself out man. You are my reason to go to the game tomorrow. I’ve a 12 Y.O. Linkwood, single cask, Oloroso finish sample at 57.4% ABV to pass to you as previously discussed.

     

     

    I expect you to be there.

     

     

    Bruv, bruv

  7. Margaret McGill on

    setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox

     

     

    01:03 on 3 December, 2014

     

     

    ok. agreed. Only 54% of celtic supporters are wankers! :)

  8. WeefratheTim on

    Just before I hit the cot, and it will be, I support Celtic and have no interest in any other football club. My Celtic have been the source of the most wonderful footballing experience with the most wonderful trophies won for any Wee Club ( supposedly) for the past 50+ years.

     

     

    Weefra praying to Wee Oscar.

  10. Margaret McGill on

    WeefratheTim

     

     

    01:07 on 3 December, 2014

     

     

    You should aim higher…thats what Raith Rovers fans say!

  13. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    BT, gee that wee ballet dancer a call and point him to my posts. I could easily give it a miss tomorrow but I made a promise. I’m leaving (not in a jet plane) in the acgrmobile at 16.00. I’ll get home somewhere after midnight after watching the hoops extend their lead.

     

     

    I expect a wee dancing fra to greet me with a smile.

     

     

     

    HH

  15. Margaret McGill on

    setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox

     

     

    01:11 on 3 December, 2014

     

    No we wont.

     

    You will play rangers (deid or not) and if you dont like it, you will have your nose pushed into some hun shite like you deserve it, the puppy dogs that we are!

  16. WeefratheTim on

    mags

     

     

    Well we now know who your preferred team is then, and it is defo not Celtic. Your choice kiddo, best of luck with that. I really need ma cot. Byee

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  21. An Tearmann on

    mike in toronto

     

     

    Thanks earlier for posting Hugh Adams article 7 years after the original post.much appreciated.:-)

     

     

    HH

  22. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Maggie doll, I’m heading to ma boat at the weekend to clear it oot and sell it. It all went wrong for me when you first refused my offer. We could have sailed off into the sunset together.

     

     

    gayasfuckcsc.com

     

     

    I’ll have to stick wi the fat hun boot form Dumfries and she’s a 55% anaw, FFS!!!!!

  23. Margaret McGill on

    setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox

     

     

    01:18 on 3 December, 2014

     

    Hopefully third rangers die permanently before Feb 1st 2015 else it’ll be WWF as far as I can see

  27. Dharma Bam on

    I missed the blog at the weekend, but did the advert/statement go into the Sunday Herald at the weekend?

     

     

    If my memory isn’t playing tricks, I thought it due to be appear last weekend.

     

     

    Cheers,

     

     

    WeeFraTheTim

     

     

    I don’t know you but chin up and get it off your chest with somebody you know. It’s an old cliché but a problem shared is a problem halved.

  29. An Tearmann on

    Dharma bam

     

     

    I believe it within a submission process.

     

    it wont be in the Herald until next year I believe.

     

     

    hh

  30. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Melbourne Mick Who’s upset weefra?.

     

    …………

     

     

     

    Fatty

     

    Walter,

     

    Collum,

     

    Hazel Irvine,

     

    tinfoil heid,

     

    Jackie “big burd” Bird,

     

    Hitler,

     

    Harsh winters,

     

    me,

     

    you,

     

    a dog named Boo,

     

    Tanner,

     

    mud,

     

    deformed lambs,

     

    The swinging detective,

     

    PeteC,

     

    The sound of music,

     

    Alien,

     

    Devo,

     

    The hun shop at Glasgow airport,

     

    snowwhite,

     

    Macaroon bars,

     

    The sun, the hun,and a dodgy mashtun.

     

     

     

    Nae idea, gies a clue?

  31. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Bulldoze the Victorian lavy into the Clyde, on a Saturday.

     

     

    It’s the only way to be sure.

  34. Melbourne Mick on

    ACGR

     

    You can’t bulldoze the victorian lavvy into the Clyde

     

    thats where the Shieldhall sh..e boat dumps it’s load

     

    and there’s only so much sh.. one river can take.

     

    H.H Mick

  35. proudbhoy on

    Ronnie delia has leapt to defence of scottish refs

     

     

    Describing them as being fantastic since he arrived.

     

     

    They must be truely terrible in norway.

  37. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Melbourne Mick, fancy swapping places wi Carmyllie Mick?

     

     

    Just till I get a sun tan.

     

     

    HH bruv. Bed and sleep time before a day of work bore, and the build up to paradise.

     

     

     

    Goodnight Celtic men and wummin.

  42. Melbourne Mick on

    Is everybody tucked up in bed?

     

    the Oz tims as well or has the rain got into

     

    your laptops?

     

    H.H Mick

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